ALGIERS, May 11 (Reuters) - Algeria on Friday declared itsruling party for the past 50 years the victor in a parliamentaryelection, going against the tide of the "Arab Spring" which hastransformed its neighbours.

The governing elite in Algeria, which supplies about a fifthof Europe's imported natural gas, had promised reform and a newgeneration of leaders in response to last year's upheavals inthe region, but the election preserved the status quo.

Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia, who oversaw Thursday'selection, said the National Liberation Front (FLN) would be thebiggest party in the new parliament, with 220 of the 462 seats.

The FLN was the movement which fought for independence fromFrench colonial rule. Ever since, it has been at the heart of asystem of power that has left Algerians so sceptical of theirviews being counted that over half the electorate did not vote.

"There is no change," political analyst and writer AbedCharef told Reuters. "Algeria has invented the force ofinertia."

The official results showed that the FLN, whose honoraryhead is President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, had increased its shareof seats to 47 percent from 34 percent.

Second place went to the National Democratic Rally (RND),with 68 seats. The RND is led by Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahiaand was in second place to the FLN in the outgoing parliament.

The Green Algeria alliance, a grouping of moderate Islamistparties with links to the ruling establishment, was in thirdplace with 48 seats.

In fourth was the secularist Front of Socialist Forces,Algeria's oldest opposition group, which ended more than adecade of boycotts to run in the election.

The Interior Minister said people had chosen to back the FLNbecause it was a party they knew, and which offered a safe"refuge" from the turmoil in the region.

"The election has reinforced the Algerian people'sattachment to the values of peace and stability," InteriorMinister Ould Kablia told a news conference. "If the people havechosen the same parties who were in the previous parliament, itis their right to choose."

ISOLATED

The result leaves Algeria the odd man out in North Africa.Egypt, Libya and Tunisia all have had revolutions that oustedautocratic leaders, while Morocco, Algeria's neighbour to thewest, now has an Islamist former opposition leader as its primeminister.

The insurrections in the region last year prompted calls forAlgeria to embrace democracy more completely and to refresh anestablishment that has run the country without interruptionsince independence from France in 1962.

Yet it was clear the election was not a clean break from thepast. More than half of eligible voters abstained, with manysaying they had no faith there would be real change. Seventeenpercent of ballots were spoiled or invalid.

Analysts said the low turnout helped the FLN. Itstraditional supporters - the elderly, the military, publicservants - are the most likely to turn up and vote, while thosewho could have countered them stayed at home.

Many believe elections are pointless because real power lieswith an informal network commonly known by the French term "lepouvoir", or "the power", which is unelected, has been aroundfor years and has its roots in the security forces. Officialsdeny such a network exists.

For now, there is little appetite for a revolt.

The country is still emerging from a conflict in the 1990sbetween security forces and Islamist insurgents, which killed anestimated 200,000 people. Few people want any radical changethat could tip Algeria back into violence.

But in the longer-term the vote could widen the gulf betweenAlgeria's ruling establishment and a majority of the people whofeel excluded from decisions about how their country is run.

"The outcome of this election is set to increase discontentwith the ruling elite, which will continue to pose significantrisks to stability," said Riccardo Fabiani, North Africa analystwith Eurasia Group, a private think-tank.

Algerians who had hoped the "Arab Spring" would lead toreform in their country were scornful of the election.

Yacine Zaid, a human rights activist and critic of theruling elite, called the election "a masquerade, a circus".

"The authorities have always dared to do what they want, togive whatever figures are in their head," he said.

However, European Union vote monitors said the organisationof the vote was satisfactory. "Citizens were, in general, ableto truly exercise their right to vote," said Jose IgnacioSalafranca, head of the EU observer mission.

Within the next few days, Bouteflika, 75, is likely toexercise his prerogative to appoint a new prime minister. Thevictory makes FLN leader Abdelaziz Belkhadem, who has alreadyserved once as prime minister, a leading candidate for the job.

Attention is likely to turn after that to the race tosucceed Bouteflika as head of state. He is frail and is notexpected to run again when his term ends in 2014.